But in reality, there was only two seconds left on the clock before the play happened.

With the game tied at 41-41 and White Pigeon holding possession on an inbounds, head coach Tony Cholometes busted out a play. Mitchell Moore was able to avert a Decatur defender to get Matt Crowl the ball, who then fired it to Branson Salyer.

What happened next will go down in White Pigeon lore and legend.

Salyer, in one motion, heaved a half-courter to beat the buzzer and connected on nothing but net to give the Chiefs a 44-41 district championship win over Decatur. The bench — and student section — exploded onto the court and a mob of Chiefs celebrated the win.

“I just looked up at the hoop and the ball looked pretty good,” Salyer said after the win. “When it went in and everyone rushed the court it was great. That’s a great feeling and it’s going to be a great memory for everyone on our team and I’ll definitely always remember this.”

The win gave White Pigeon the district crown and propels them to the regional semi finals, hosted by Constantine High School Monday at 6 p.m. against Bridgman.

“Honestly my heart is still racing,” Robbie Gibson said after the game was over. “I wasn’t sure if he got in off in time or not but it went in and my heart is still racing.”

Cholometes said the determination of his team, which trailed at one point by nine in the first half, was the key to the victory.

“Our team played so hard tonight and we never gave up,” he said. “Our team had that never-say-die attitude in this one and they made a couple of runs on us. It seemed like we’d chisel it down and then they’d push it again and it went back and forth in that second half. But our guys showed great heart tonight.”

The gameplan wasn’t to make a half-courter as time expired — obviously. But it sure was a nice way to cap off a physical, hard-fought contest.

“We wanted to keep pounding the ball inside,” Salyer said.

Crowl and Gibson said they enjoyed battling tough inside.

“Our gameplan was to get it into the middle, then look backside for a cutter,” Crowl said. “I think that was able to help us in the second half quite a bit.”

Gibson said losing wasn’t going to be an option for the Chiefs, who were hosting the districts.

Page 2 of 3 - “At our home court, in the district finals, we weren’t going to lose this,” he said. “The chemistry we have as a team really worked tonight and as seniors, we weren’t going to let this team lose tonight.”

The game started out with Decatur hitting some shots early. Timothy Cerven was able to hit a couple of tear-drop jumpers and the Raiders led 11-9 early and at the end of one quarter.

In the second, Decatur pushed their lead out to 20-12 with a 3-point play from Timothy Stambek.

Yet, the Chiefs did battle back with buckets inside from Crowl and Moore.

Decatur led 23-17 at halftime.

“I think with facing some adversity early in the season, that definitely helped us become a better team,” Cholometes said. “We lost some close games early on and I think that gave us a taste for what not to do in close games. When we stick with our gameplan and be patient, good things happen.”

To open the third quarter, a shot inside by Crowl brought the Chiefs within four points at 25-21 before buckets by Gibson and Matt Eger tied the game at 25-25.

As the teams continued to battle physically on the inside, Gibson, who had three fouls, played a huge role for the Chiefs.

“Defense was the key for us in this game,” he said. “We didn’t foul as much in this game and having hard defense in the second half got us back in the game.”

The two teams were tied at 30-30 heading into the fourth. Decatur then took a 35-30 advantage before White Pigeon came back and tied the game.

With just under two minutes left in the contest, the teams were tied at 41-41. The rest, obviously, is history as Salyer’s heave were the final points in those last two minutes.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my teammate, that was a huge shot by Branson,” Crowl said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more for our senior year. This was my dream. When you’re a little kid this is why you go out in the driveway and shoot.”

Crowl led the Chiefs with 15 points and 15 rebounds while Gibson had 13 points and six rebounds. Salyer finished with six points and six boards, Eger had five points and Moore finished with three.

Cerven led all scorers with 17 in a losing effort.

“This team buying in with mind, body and soul, have fought hard to achieve this district,” Cholometes said. “I’m so proud of them and this was a fun game. Both teams worked very hard and I just couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

Page 3 of 3 - Cholometes also thanked his coaching staff and the role players on the team. Without them, he said, the Chiefs wouldn’t be able to accomplish their goals.

“Without the hard work of our assistant coaches — Jason Weaver and Jimmy Shoesmith — in addition to our entire team, it’d be tough to do great things,” Cholometes said. “Behind the scenes these guys all work so hard and they deserve a lot of credit. I can’t thank them enough, I’m so fortunate to have them as part of my staff.”